THE ISLAND OCEAN MARATHON 2013 - THE MOST UNFORGETTABLE EPIC 2ND FM JOURNEY T..T

My precious Finisher Medal

Mesmerizing sun rise view from World Resort Langkawi. Credits to Lydia, Azim's wifey.

Hello there fellow readers and followers, my brothers and sisters of runninghood (if only there's such word =D). Happy lovely Thursday to all. I'm still couldn't forget my recent 2nd Full Marathon journey aka runcation aka island escapade. It was still fresh in my mind, as if it was being held yesterday. Guessed that everybody will have to agree with me on that department. I'm pretty sure many of us, runners had such a great time and sweet moments before, during and after IOM 2013. So here I am, would love to share my EPIC, so-called Dramatic journey... LOL!

Pre-Run Journey

Got myself my lucky number 14 on my running bib and a awesome Runner's Guide... Cool!

I took our racekits from The Marathon Shop after I was temporarily lost my way (silly me) a week before the event. Rashid, my personal supporter cum photographer and I took our flight from LCCT at 6.55 pm on Saturday, 20 April 2013. Our flight has been rescheduled from 5.20 pm to 6.55 pm. See, we wasted some time here already. Sigh. As soon as we touched down at the Langkawi International Airport, immediately I drove the rental car to find for a decent "carbo-loading" dinner nearby. We had a heavy Thai seafood for dinner. It was delicious nonetheless. After that, it was time to check in to our motel. We've decided to stay at Desa Motel, located just opposite the Fave Hotel, the official accommodation for most of the runners too. I never knew I would be running in front of the motel on the very next day. Gosh! Hahaaa... 

Running gears - Checked! We are good to go!!! 

Next, it was time for us to assemble all the running related gears and put it aside all the prepared stuffs on the table. I've prepared three 250 ml hydration bottles, one was for drinking water, one was for isotonic drink and last but not least, one was for Hammer FIZZ Endurolytes drink. Just in case we might woke up late tomorrow morning. Must have some contingency plan, based on my previous late start experience during MWM 2013... LOL! Around 11 pm, it was time to hit the sack and called it a day, although I hardly could sleep at first. Super jittery feelings, I guessed. 

Around 3.25 am, Rashid woke me up after he had his shower. I was so freaking tired and still pretty much in a sleepy zombie mode at that time. So I dragged myself for a hot shower and prepping up. We were already late when our fellow running friend, Azim and his wifey, Lydia were waiting for us. Goshhh! Luckily the starting venue was not that far from my motel, circa 3 km. 

Here We Go! 

We arrived at Resort World Langkawi around 4 am. There were already many runners at the starting line, approximately 1,000 in total. After we observed the moment of silence for the victims of  the horrific Boston Marathon bombings incident, we were horned off  at 4.30 am with the majestic firework display.  I decided to start the run easy since I didn't warm up properly and I haven't done my no.2 business. Hahaaa.... 

Happy chirpy faces before the tormenting run begins... Hey I had the Cat's Eye literally.. LOL!!!

After 3.5 km, we were ushered into the dark Cenang Beach. Since it was still dark, all I could hear was the crashing waves. It was difficult to run on the beach since it was really dark. I had to follow a runner who was wearing his headlamp and keep up with his pace too. I was surprised to see that there was a couple who were sitting in the middle of the beach route. Some runners might bump into them if they were not alert.  

Once I exited the beach section, I ran towards the road along the airport area. Before that, I had to do a quick pit stop for my no. 2 business first since there's not porta-loo around the route. Sigh! We were running under the shining stars and it was pitch dark. Although some parts of the road were visible with the blinking signals light from the safety VW cars, but I almost tripped after I stepped on the reflective square thingy in middle of the road. Thank goodness I didn't fall down. 

Before I hit the 12 km u-turn, I came upon Mr Yahya Iskandar, one of my running blogger buddy. Looks like he was running strong in front of me on that time. Keep it up dude! Oh I almost forgot, I had my 5.30 pace band as I aimed to do 5.30 for this IOM after came upon Yvonne's blog. A tad bit ambitious? Maybe, but there's no harm to aim high because that would be my buffer time to achieve Sub 6 at least. Hehee... I took my 1st gel after 10k (1:17:09, 7'32"). I was still within my pace band after KM15 (1:56:58, 8'58") when my pace started to decrease once I reached the 20KM marker (2:39:25 and 7'49"). I was getting slower by 3 minutes and then 6 minutes after 25 KM... Sigh T..T 

We ate hills for breakfast, lunch and dinner too...  Hell yeah!!! LOL!!!

From KM17 onwards we were served with a variety of rolling hills. Some of them were mild, some of the inclines were continuously long and some of them were tormenting, especially in Bukit Malut Hahaha... I gulped down my 2nd energy gel circa KM18. I had to say that I ate hills for breakfast and brunch too. LOL... Definitely an awesome experience. I reached KM25 marker after 3:22:07 and 8'16" pace. I ate my banana like hell here as I was so hungry. I also took my 3rd energy gel after my pee stop even though my throat felt funny after gulping down several energy gels. Urghhh... Later on, as I reached KM29 water station, I was surprised to be served with a cold coconut drink. Totally felt like heaven sent for me, although my coconut drink tasted a bit sour-ish. Not that I complained. Hahaa.. One of the cheerful volunteer wished me good luck before I continued my journey. Later on I found out she was Ms. Farah. I first met her during my FMV in PBIM 2012 after KM33, I think so... 

May God bless this coconut opener guy for giving us the most refreshing cold coconut drink on Earth ever... =D

All seemed to be running pretty well even though I stopped at every water station to get both of my knees and calves sprayed. Suddenly all hell broke loose after KM32 when my iPhone aka mp3 player was out of battery. I was running music-less and with no mile indicator while tackling the vicious relentless killer hills during my last 10 km . T..T Plus it was super scorching hot with less shades along the route. I kept on chanting some zikr for my mantra to keep my rhythm and to avoid any mental breakdown. =(

As you can see, my Nike+ Apps stopped at 32.6km... Still a long way to go before I reached the finishing line... T..T

I would love to run with the Force all the time... How I wish!!! =D

 It was sooo hard to run in this blazing hot condition that I gave up and resorted to walk and it took me forever to reach the next WS in KM35. It was the highest point of the route. I was very very happy as all my water bottles were almost empty. After refuelling and soaked some icy cold sponge onto my head and face, I kept on running towards KM38 WS. Once I reached KM40 WS, I was taken by surprise when my personal photographer took my picture as I was already felt super tired. It was almost 6hour at that moment. Moreover, the Fave Hotel served me an icy cold Coke. Another heaven sent on a super hot day. I poured more Coke into my water bottle and kept on running towards the final 3 km. 

 

 

Mr Tey caught all my epic moments during the final 2 KM going the final uphill... Almost gave up already... That's the power of a camera... LOL! Thanx a lot Mr Tey... Awesome pic of a Kitty Guy.

The photographers were very clever to encourage us to keep on running even on an uphill by taking our pictures at the top of the final hill. Must stay strong and looked happy in picture liao. Hahaa... As I dashed towards the finishing line, another lovely ice-cream was being offered at me. I couldn't resist that offer, hell no! Hahaha.. Finally I could see the finishing arch and ran like hell towards it despite all the chaffings 
around my thigh area. @..@ I managed to finish the run in 6 hour 08 minutes nonetheless... 

Almost there, almost home!

My 1st picture after finishing the awful hot run... Catching my breath! Thanx Rashid...

After being handed the precious finisher medal, finisher tee and a cool goodies VW bag, I went straight way to refresh and rehydrate myself. Had plenty of watermelons slices, Gatorade drink and some bananas too.  I even took away 2 packs of nasi lemak, which was very yummy indeed. Now it's time for some post session photo shoots. Hehee.... =D

My must do after run pose... So cliche of me... Hahaa 

Congratz to all of us (Me, Rashid and Azim) for finishing this super tough route... Insaf sude!!! 

Met my Twitter friend in person, Azizul Morshidi, he`s fast n finished in style...Siap catwalk ala Charlie's Angels lagik.!

Me and my new friend, Mr Yahya from Kuching, Sarawak... Sik cayak nakk bole jupa juak akhirnya tek.. =D

Well, what can I say, I was very pleased with this boutique marathon, where us the runners were their customers. We were pampered with cold coconut drinks, two extra energy gels, plenty of bananas, icy Coke and endless amount of Gatorade, Revive and cold drinking water. There was no timing chip and no cut off point as it was a non-competitive running event. I could see many runners ran in groups and took a group picture non-stop along the scenic route. They seemed to be having lots of fun too. 

Post Recovery Activities

After the event, Rashid and I went for a lunch at the nearby ikan bakar restaurant in Cenang Beach. Since Rashid achieved his PB for this 2nd FM (4.44.02 aka Sub5, shaved 35min from his previous FM!), I asked him to buy me lunch to celebrate his victory.. Thank a lot dude! Keep on getting your Sub4 dream soon ok! More PB equals more free makan-makan celebration...Hahahaa! I love the grilled squid and the giant prawn... Yummeh! We dozed off once we reached our motel. Three of us went to Tanjung Rhu in the evening for a swim and photo taking activities. It was so painful to take a dip in sea with all the chaffings... Ouch! 

The catch of the day... Definitely priceless!!!! Meowww... =P

Muhasabah diri sat setelah selesai habiskan 2nd FM in one piece... No dehydration issue afterwards... Yayyy!!!

We went to Pekan Kuah to buy some chocolates for our family and friends. Later on, we headed to Wan Thai for a scrumptious authentic Thai delicacies. I just loved their Somtam and Siakap Tiga Rasa... Definitely a mind blowing experience... =P

Totally an authentic Thai Food... Wan Thai the best... Very reasonable price too... =D

On the final day in this legendary island, we decided to take the Sky Cab to Mount Macincang. Unfortunately it was closed for their annual maintenance until 25 April 2013. Therefore we tried to have a look at Telaga Tujuh (Seven Wells). I've never been there before, as far as I could remember. So the three of us climbed the stairs up and reached the highest pool in no time. It was pretty tiring especially after the grueling IOM. We took some pictures too along the way. It's goofying time for us... Hehehee!

 

Dipping my sore feet in a icy cool water from the mountain... Rasa nak berendam terus je... Rugi xbawak suar mandi... 

So, that's all folks for this race review aka random ramblings... Hahaa... Looking forward for my 2nd part of this Marathon Series, which is River Jungle Marathon (RJM). Can't wait to tackle the well known vicious Bukit Hantu in Hulu Langat... Bring it on, bebeh! Unleash the "hantu" inside me i never knew... ROFLOL!!! Thus i will try to improv my timing also... Ngeh2... See ya around then y'all... 

Ciao!

Enjoyed my last sunset moment in Pantai Tengah... I'm for sure will miss this Legendary Island... 

It's FASHIONISTA ZOMBA ZOMBIE BEBEH... ROFLOL!!!

Run For Your Soul.... Grrrrr!!!!

Hello there, happy barakah holy Friday to all my fellow readers and followers, my respected brothers and sisters of Runninghood. Hope it`s not too late for me to share with ya my several running activities. So sorry for not being able to update my blog regularely due to some inevitable circumstances. (Under the weather, sore legs and old injury creeping back, lazy much etc. LOL...) Well, better late than never, right...

Cool Finisher Tee to all runners and volunteers too... Luv the design too!!!  I`m  part of the club already... =D

So let me get str8 to the point, cerita basi pon basi lah janji sempat document in my Diva Runner blog... Hahaha... How narcissistic of me... LOL... I`ve been volunteering myself as one of the Zombie Runner for Zombie Run Malaysia 2013. It was held in Canyon Paintball Pak, Bukit Utama, Damansara on 2nd February 2013. I immediately signed up without a doubt once I read about it in Penonton. It`s about time for me to become one of the volunteer for this inaugural Zombie Run, the 1st in South East Asia as being depicted by Bangkok Post. Later on, I managed to "poison" Rashid to be one of the Zombie volunteer too, especially it will be held on his 31st Birthday... Yayyy, it`s gonna be a Zombie celebrating his undead day... The day he has turned.. LOL!

Before the D day, we were required to pick our character and request for our wardrobe. We`ve met Lord Chacha, our Lord Zombie (although he didn`t dressed up as one on the event day) and Ms. Sonyah, our wardrobe adviser aka person in charge. I chose to be a Fashionista Zombie (Read: Lady Gaga aka Ah Gua) while Rashid chose to be a Saree Auntie (Read: Minah Estet Mati Masa Menoreh). Both of us chose to be the Chaser Zombies as we would love to chase the runners for their brains life straps. Besides chaser, there were also stumbler and tank zombies. It`s gonna be hilarious and full of EPIC as I was told there`s will be Hooker Zombie and Beauty Pageant Zombie involved too... Sooo excited! The Rise of Tranny Zombies... LOL!

The "bootcamp" character building training session... Credits to Felicia Zoe

Afterwards, we had to undergo 2 - 3 sessions of training during the weekend consecutively for us to truly feel our characters, to be one with it too. It was so much like a military bootcamp, a glimpse of it I guessed. These 2 training sessions conducted by a famous well known actress Ms. Nicole Anne Thomas really "broke" our bones, just like an undead zombie. It was tough and gruelsome too... We were rewarded with sore muscles all over our body... Goshh, thank goodness we`ve survived...  Fuhhh...Hahaha... ;D

(Disclaimer: The following pictures might make you feel nauseous, jaw dropping and eye popping. Pretty not decent for pregnant ladies and those with faint hearted. You've been warned.... Mwahahaa...)

Rashid the model of the day... Eerie much? Hahaha...

My masterpiece after the make up hands on session... Thanx to Rashid too... Gruelsome much!

Another stunning masterpiece.... Freaking real, man!!! Good job....

So now we are ready. Next we must learn on how to make up ourselves and transformed into a very real Walking Dead Brainiac fellas.. Hehee.... The make up lesson by Ms. Felicia Zoe, a rising make up artist, well known for her awesome masterpiece was very informative and the hands-on was cool too. It`s very easy to become an eerie Zombie with some simple tools, bloody real blood and make up. Rashid, as usual, volunteered himself to be the model of the day. Later on, he was featured in The Star. Glam abess hehee!

Luv the title, The Running Dead!!! 

Moving forward to D day. We reached the venue around 6am after being lost for a while coz the venue was pretty much secluded and cant find it directly, even with a map. Talking about fashionably late... LOL... I immediately try on my wig and  dress while Rashid tried his turquoise saree... Soooo hilarious... Hahaha.. Unfortunately he lost his bangles during the fitting session, so 'tingtong' of him...

      My before and after Zombie makeover.... Grotesque indeed... Exclusively only on this blog... Muahaha..

Final touch ups by Felicia Zoe. She`s a Zombie too... 

Fashionista aka Lady Gaga aka Ah Gua Zombie with Saree Auntie Zombie in action..... Grrrrrr!!!

Even Beauty Queen Zombie must eat bihun too... Hahaaa... Not just brains!!!

All bloody drenched school kids zombies.... Arrrrrr!!!!!

Since we were a tad late, we dicided to went for the 2nd - 5th (final) waves. I`m not ready to go for the 1st wave coz I really need more final touch up, thus I would like to know the feedback from the pioneer Zombies. The first two waves were like a warm up for me. I couldn`t able to snatch any of the life strap from the runners as most of them were fast and full of dramas, especially the ladies. (God!). Later on, I learned to be more fearless, merciless and managed to grab 5 straps from them. Yayyy...

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai Moment & Victorious Zombies!

Rashid, Yours Truly and WAR friends... Great job guys!!! So sorry for your swollen ankle Fadhil... X sengaja k! 

I witnessed so many runners fell down, tripped over, hurt themselves up while running for their lives as the course surface was not even (semi dried mud holes) and full of potential hazzards too , i.e. sharp twigs, dead trees, rusty car and drums. Creepy much. It was getting hotter during the 3rd wave. Even the zombies were dehydrated. Luckily our Miss Beauty Pageant Zombie was the Miss Congeniality of the day. "She" offered us his 100 Plus isotonic drink. Blessed you.  Oh I did managed to scare the socks out of them and made one of my runner friend from WARs, Fadhil sprained his ankle while in the Zone 4. Guessed that my Zombie make up was picture purrfect, even my running buddies couldn`t recognised me at all... Ngeh2... Martylarr masuk bakul angkat sendiri!!!

Keeping up with the marshalls, including our gengkakilari friends, Idot and Izwan.... Korang memang sempoi!!!

Scout Gurl, Harajuku, Saree Auntie, Bride and Clown Zombie....

Minus the Clown Zombie... Ahahaaa...

Yours truly with our Wardrobe Adviser, Sonyah aka Harajuku Zombie... Luv yur scissors! 

Saree Auntie, Chucky aka Gymnast Zombie and Budak Sekolah Zomba....  Awesome!!! 

Saree Auntie and Bahia... Zombies Rule!!!

After all the excitement, it was time for camwhoring and photoshoots with my fellow Zombiemates and the organizers, our unsung heroes and heroins. Overall, it was truly a new experience for us. It was one of a kind running event where the Zombies rule in the end... Hahaa... I really had so much fun  chasing runners around. Would I do it again next year? Hell yeahh... Hahahaa.. Just wait for Auntie Cheongsam Zombie then... Kihkihkihh... Oh we were featured in Chera Miche`s blog " Leave Your Own Track" and Felicia Zoe`s too. Check it out y`all... Hehee!!!

Yours Truly and Lord Zombie Chacha... Love thy leader!!! 

 

Friendly smiling ever Vinnie and Zack (Team C Leader), the iron people behind the scene.... Kudos peeps! Last but not least, it`s time for group photos guys!!!!